That Moment When
by JesusMaryJosephine
Summary: Superman is on Jason's shorts and he's finally asking Reyna out. Hestia gives love advice. Reyna's covered in paint and she might be on her period. Calypso wants cows and Mars and Bellona are meditating. And maybe, just maybe, they can have a happy ending this time. Caleo, Jeyna, Leyna, Reychel. A set of drabbles about made from prompts given to me by you wonderful people!
1. The Fish Is Blue (Jeyna)

**The Fish Is Blue**

 **(Jeyna)**

"Like, I'm _sorry_ , Octavian, but there are things in the world called _bills_ , and I am not paying them because _you_ want to know if the Maple Leafs are going to lose to the Washington Capitals _again_. I mean, that's sort of a given. Besides, why does he even _care_ about hockey? We live in San Francisco for Bellona's sake!

Reyna's dark eyes flashed as she ranted. Jason was content to just wait it out until he saw her hand drifting towards her dagger.

"Alright, Reyna!" He took her hand and held it awkwardly between them, chuckling hesitantly. "Let's not gut the son of Jupiter." Her eyebrows rose.

"Octavian's not a son of Jupiter. He's a legacy of Apollo. You know that."

"No, no, I meant-" Whatever he meant would have to wait.

"Jason! Jason! Dude, the-" Bobby stopped, realizing Reyna was there too. "Dude!" He whispered. " _She_ can't hear." His eyes drifted down to their hands. "Oh! Am I interrupting something?" He winked.

Reyna yanked her hand away from Jason's and settled it on the hilt of her dagger. "No."

"Great, that's great." Bobby grabbed Jason's ear down and whisper-shouted: " _The fish is blue._ "

A change seemed to come over Jason. "I see." He looked at Bobby, looking like he was struggling not to strangle the son of Mercury. Bobby's eyes widened.

"Oh! Okay. Mhm. Yup, I know what's going on here. Superman's cool. It's all good in Bobby's World." He turned and ran towards the… Oh no. Reyna looked at Jason who was tugging down his shirt.

"Why is he running towards the temple of Jupiter?'"

"He wants to pay respects to Dad."

"Mhm, yeah, would that have anything to do with the fact that Octavian is there with _fifty-two gigantic fluffy bulls he plans to sacrifice to the gods to find out the ending of the game_?!"

Jason scratched at his neck awkwardly. "Uh, no, of course not!" _Gods, where is a son of Mercury when you need one?_

"Then what did he whisper to you?" Jason turned to look over at his father's temple. _Please, Dad, don't let me screw this up_. _I'm sorry I said the fish is blue. It should have been an eagle, okay? Can you help, now? The same tricks you used with Hera, Alcmene, and Mom?_

"He said that, um…" He looked at Reyna, her delicate eyebrows arched and her beautiful obsidian eyes with warm mocha tones and her silky black braid and…

"He was saying how beautiful you looked."

How the Pluto had _that_ came out?! His eyes widened as he desperately tried to take back what he said. _Thanks, Dad. That was real helpful. Salutes to you, my friend._

Thunder rumbled.

 _Oh,_ that _you notice. Bravo._

More thunder.

 _Alright, alright! I get it! Sorry._

He looked back at Reyna. "Sorry, I, well, um, you-" He paused and took a deep breath. The amusement sparkling in her eyes spurred him on.

"He was right." He paused and turned towards the temple again, where Bobby was probably slashing countless bulls sacrificing them to Venus in hopes that this would work. He wasn't even a descendant of Apollo!

"And… I was wondering… If you would maybe… Like to go out for dinner tomorrow?"

There was a long wait, and he was just about to apologize for everything when-

"Yes. Yes, I would." Reyna turned around, headed for her villa.

Bobby ran up to Jason, his eyes lighting up.

"So, what did she say?"

"The hippo is green," Jason said, his eyes focused on the dark-haired girl almost at her door, a goofy grin on his face.

Bobby nodded importantly and ran to the Fifth Cohort.

"THE HIPPO IS GREEN!"

Alright, so maybe code words were used for something other than war. Like telling your best friend that his Superman undies are showing.

 **Hey, guys! So, this is a drabble type of thing where my friends are going to give me ten sentences, and then a pairing to go with it. Hope you enjoyed this one, even it wasn't my best work.**

 **Update: To Guest: Thanks for giving me the first review. I don't quite understand what you meant with the whole "I don't like your attitude" thing, so if you could PM me or review again so I could fix whatever I need to fix, that would be great. Thanks!**


	2. Fire Is My Fetish (Leyna)

**Fire Is My Fetish**

 **(Leyna)**

It takes a special kind of patience to tolerate Leo Valdez.

Reyna did not own this kind of patience, which meant she was just _this close_ to murdering the annoying Santa's elf. He was bouncing around, his eyes sparkling, and she just didn't _get it._ How could he be so happy at a time like this? One more annoying hop and a "Lighten up, Rey Rey" and she _snapped_.

"Valdez, we are stuck in the middle of the goddamned ocean on some shitty mound of sand and I _refuse_ to tolerate one more stupid joke."

There was a long moment of silence where both demigods looked at each other.

"Okay," Leo said, lightly. "Let's see if we can IM the others."

"IM?" It took a moment for Reyna to get it. "Oh! You mean Iris Message." She thought Leo would pull a sarcastic joke on her, like he often did with just about everyone else, but he didn't. Instead, he smiled gently at her and said, "Yeah. That."

Pleasantly surprised, Reyna let him lead her into the _cold cold cold_ water. The water splashed around their knees, and Leo tossed a drachma into the spray.

"Um…" He turned to Reyna.

"Percy?" She suggested. "We _are_ in the middle of the ocean."

"True," Leo agreed. "Percy Jackson, at Camp Half-Blood."

* * *

"No!" Aphrodite shrieked. "They're about to Iris Message Percy!"

"And that's bad why exactly?" Artemis asked, picking at the dirt under her nails. Being forced to be in the same room as Aphrodite for more than five minutes did that to you.

"It's going to ruin my plan!"

Athena looked up. "You make plans?"

"Obviously!" Aphrodite replied indignantly. "Is anyone else going to get Leyna together?"

"Leyna?" Artemis rose an eyebrow.

"Leo and Reyna," Athena contributed.

"You know ship names?" Apollo demanded, finally looking up from his notebook, where he was scribbling down horrible haikus.

"Back to the Leyna problem!" Aphrodite cried. "They're going to get saved before they bond!"

"Who cares?" Athena snapped.

"I do!" Aphrodite yelled. "Now someone help me!"

"Intercept the call," Artemis said, as if it was obvious. "I do it all the time when men try to Iris Message my hunters. Thalia asked me not to do it, though. She actually likes her cousins. I can see why. They're decent males. Especially Nico."

She paused as everyone looked at her weirdly.

"What? I can like men."

Aphrodite shook her head and focused on intercepting the call.

* * *

"Is it supposed to take this long?" Reyna asked. The small rainbow was getting smaller by the second.

"No…" Leo replied, scrunching up his face. "Wait, look!"

The figure of Percy Jackson started materializing.

"Percy! Bro!" Leo shouted. The son of Poseidon looked like he was about to say something when the Iris Message vanished.

"Let's try again," Reyna suggested.

Many failed tries later, she stopped Leo from tossing another drachma into the spray. _How many did he_ have _?_

"Leo. It's not working. There's something preventing us from calling people. We're going to have to get out of this on our own." Her own words registered in her brain and she shivered as she looked up at the late afternoon sky.

"Great. Just, great."

* * *

"She doesn't seem very happy about that," Athena remarked.

"No, really?" Hephaestus snarked. "Her loss. Girls would kill to date my son."

"No, girls would kill to date _my_ son." Zeus butted in.

"Your sons are all arrogant pricks," Hephaestus replied. He glanced at Ares, smirking a little.

" _You_ are my son," Zeus replied, his eyes dancing with mirth.

" _No_ ," Hephaestus disagreed, chuckling a little. "I am you _step_ -son."

Zeus groaned. "And I suppose you don't think of yourself as an arrogant prick?"

Hephaestus shrugged. "You're the one who threw me off the mountain. You tell me."

* * *

Reyna leaned into Leo a little bit. The sky was pretty dark, and the only thing keeping her warm was the fire Leo had created and Leo himself. He was like a scrawny Latino heater. A _cute_ scrawny Latino heater. She caught herself. _No! Remember the last time you let a boy into your heart! He shattered it into a million pieces then stomped on the shards!_

She leaned away from Leo so that she was sitting upright again. If he noticed, he didn't say anything. He just kept his eyes focused on the fire, the flames flickering in his eyes.

* * *

"Ugh!" Aphrodite screamed. "She just _leaned_ _away_. He was about to put an arm around her and she _leaned away_."

"It shows that she's wise," Athena contradicted.

"Athena's right," Artemis agreed. "Reyna's had her heart broken before. If you'll notice it was by this boy's best friend."

"A son of Jupiter," Hephaestus couldn't help adding.

"He has to make her trust him," Hestia added from the hearth. Everyone turned to look at the goddess oddly. Aphrodite giving love advice? Normal. Athena giving love advice? Rare. Hestia giving love advice? Unheard of.

"You're right," Aphrodite murmured. Suddenly, she gasped, a smile appearing on her face.

Athena, Artemis, and Hestia shook their heads, sighing.

"Those poor kids."

* * *

A flash of lightning lit up the sky, accompanied by a boom of thunder. Reyna unconsciously shifted closer to Leo. Soon, her head was resting on his shoulder.

She was about to move when Leo slowly put his arms around her. She smiled into his sleeve.

* * *

"OH MY US THEY'RE HUGGING!" Aphrodite squealed. Everyone in the throne room plugged their ears.

Athena groaned. "We should really cut down her supply of crystal balls to spy on couples with."

Artemis murmured in agreement.

* * *

"Wait, so you guys were like half spy half babysitters?" Leo clarified. Reyna shoved him lightly.

"Don't laugh! We looked really badass walking down New Rome with our black suits, sunglasses, and diaper bags. Me, Jason, Bobby, Dakota, and Gwen." Leo busted out laughing.

"Did you have strollers too?"

"Yup! Sometimes we also had those earpieces so that we could talk to each other."

"You guys did the slow walk, didn't you."

"Who wouldn't? We were wearing _spy suits_."

"True, true," Leo agreed. "You know what would really make this better? Smores."

Reyna made a small noise of agreement, moving closer to the fire. Leo grinned and made it bigger. She squeaked, hopping back. Then she turned around and for a moment there was nothing to hear but-

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow ow, _OW HOLY MOTHER OF_ -"

Reyna finally stopped hitting him, and they both sat up, staring at the ocean.

"Why would you _do_ that?" She demanded, glancing at a wincing Leo. He grinned looking back at her.

"What can I say? Fire is my fetish."

"It's a stupid fetish," Reyna muttered, turning away from him. He laughed, putting an arm around her.

"Suuuuuure."

* * *

 **Alright, this was a request from Xander Jacobson Son of Athena! Tell me how I did in the review box. Other than that… Ciao!**


	3. There Are Worse Thing (Reychel)

" **You know what, there are worse things than having paint on your nose! Um...and your hair...and...your eyebrows...and...um...well, you know what, I'm sure it could still be a whole lot worse!"**

 **(Reychel)**

There were few scarier things in the world than an angry Reyna. Those things would be Hades's underpants, the end of Sally Jackson's cooking and baking, and one of Warren Dare's work parties, where he tried to match Rachel up with smart nerds who wore blue suits full-time at the age of eighteen.

Reyna and Rachel had had their ups and downs in the long, long, _long_ journey called love. An up would be when they had moved into their own apartment together. A down would be when their cat, Skippy, died. Another up would be when Rachel finally coaxed Reyna to play the flute for her, something she had learned during her time at Circe's.

But the time when Rachel accidentally dropped a red shirt into Reyna's white laundry? Her _white_ laundry? That just about took the cake. A huge red velvet cake covered in Rachel's bright red blood as icing.

Rachel stood at the other side of the living room as she watched Reyna slowly take out a once white now pink pair of capris. Then a T-Shirt, some socks, and-

Reyna stopped. Rachel sucked in a breath. Reyna slowly turned to look at Rachel. Rachel was as good as dead. The once white now pink bandanna Rachel had given Reyna for their one year anniversary. Rachel started hyperventilating. Reyna opened her mouth.

"How did the red shirt get into my laundry?" She asked, surprisingly calmly for a person whose one year anniversary gift was now ruined.

"Um…" Rachel thought for a moment. "Uh…" She wracked her mind. "Er…" Reyna rose an eyebrow.

"I'm waiting." Rachel heaved a sigh.

"Fine. When you were gone, I was painting, um-" There was no way Rachel was telling Reyna what she had been painting. "This thing, and then I remembered that your birthday was coming up, so I decided to do your laundry." She smiled charmingly, hoping Reyna would take pity on her.

"Get to the part where the shirt went into the washer."

Maybe not.

"Anyway, you have that really fancy lemony smelling detergent that you don't let me use, and I wanted at least _one_ of my clothes to smell like that, for just a little bit, so I took one of my shirts and put it in with your basket."

"This was the red shirt?"

"Correct?"

"And it didn't look weird in the _slightest_ when put with my white socks and shirts and cardigans?"

"No…?"

Reyna shook her head, sighing. "Can I just ask you one question?"

Rachel resisted the urge to be sassy and tell Reyna that she had already asked a bunch of question. Since she was quite attached to her head, and the way it sat on her head instead of, say, rolling on the floor beside her, she opted instead for a, "Sure."

Reyna looked at her and asked, very seriously, "Did you put in the liquid detergent after the water or before?"

"Before…" Rachel said carefully. Reyna groaned, shaking her head.

"Rachel, we have a _top load_ washing machine. This means that if you put in the detergent _before_ the water, then the detergent stays in the clothing, instead of rinsing out. This in turn means that all my clothes now have splotches on them."

Rachel's eyes widened. "Shit."

Reyna sighed. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." She took the red shirt out of the basket and tossed it on the couch. "And if it means that much to you, I'll use my detergent for your clothes too, okay? Just… Please, never do laundry again."

The daughter of Bellona headed for the laundry room. Rachel followed her. Reyna reached up and opened the overhead cabinet to get the detergent.

"Reyna, no!"

Cans of paint cascaded down onto the former praetor.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, white, and black.

There was a moment of silence where Reyna turned to look at Rachel and Rachel looked back at Reyna, and then marveled at how even covered in paint, Reyna still managed to look gorgeous.

"Why was there paint in the cabinet with the detergent?" Reyna demanded and all Rachel could think was, "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."

"Um…" Reyna wasn't supposed to find out about her secret stash of paint for the projects that Rachel wanted to keep a surprise. Didn't Reyna never open the… bottom cabinet. Whoops.

"I… Well… If it makes you feel any better, they _would_ have been closed."

The stony look of _Are you freaking kidding me?_ and _You are so dead_ stayed on Reyna's face. Rachel gulped.

"You know what, there are worse things than having paint on your nose! Um...and your hair...and...your eyebrows...and...um...well, you know what, I'm sure it could still be a whole lot worse!"

If anything, Reyna's eyes got darker. Rachel was desperate.

"When desperate, resort to being cheesy" was her relationship motto. Hopefully, it worked now.

"You know, when I first got you that white bandanna, I told you it that there was a really good reason. One meaning for the colour white is _perfect_. And I can honestly say that even now, covered in paint, you look _so. Freaking. Perfect._ "

Reyna started shaking, and for one panic filled second, Rachel thought she was twitching from a) seizure or b) anger. Once she discarded both of those ideas on the account of them being stupid, she listened for a minute and realizes Reyna was _laughing_.

"Oh… My… Gods…" Reyna gasped, giggling. "That was… so _cheesy_." Rachel shrugged.

"I have my moments," She replied, shrugging.

Instead of responding, Reyna pulled her down into the pool of paint, both of them laughing hysterically.

"This was nice," Reyna said, when she finally caught her breath. She paused. "But you're still never doing the laundry again. Stick to folding, _sweetheart_."

Rachel frowned.

"You're still going to put your detergent in my clothes too, right?"

"No guarantees."

Rachel groaned. "Reyna!"

* * *

 **Could that have had a better plot, and ending? Yes to both. Was I just too lazy? Yes to that as well. Anyway, this was requested by PercicoForever. I hope this fulfilled your expectations at least halfway.**

 **On a side note, has anyone noticed that in these three chapters, every ship has had Reyna in it?**


	4. I Want Cows (Caleo)

" **I want cows."**

 **Caleo**

Apparently, the gods had _some_ conscience, somewhere in their supernova minds, which was why they called Leo and Calypso up for a visit.

To save the relationship of Caleo, the gods had asked Leo if he wanted to be immortal or Calypso if she wanted to become a mortal. Because Leo had no intention of being immortal -He had seen what that did to people, like Hercules- Calypso said she wanted to be mortal. She would be remarkably like a child of Apollo, what with her voice and her knowledge of healing remedies.

"So, what are we doing after this?" Calypso asked as she and Leo flew over Minnesota. "I know you want to go to Camp Half-Blood, but after that…"

"I don't know," Leo said, thoughtfully. "I might want to stay there for a bit, but I definitely want to travel with you too."

"What do you think we'll be when we're older?" Calypso questioned, looking into the horizon. Leo shrugged.

"I was thinking we could maybe have a shop, or something. Like, I could be a mechanic, and you could have food and medicine set up for anyone who came in."

"That's not a bad idea," Calypso replied.

"I want some cows," she said, randomly, after a while. Leo turned around, raising an eyebrow quizzically. He knew _he_ was a nut, but he hadn't known his _girlfriend_ was a nut too.

"Sunshine, why would we need a cow?"

"For milk," Calypso replied, completely straight faced.

And all Leo could do was laugh.

* * *

 **Aaaaand… I failed on that. One hundred percent. Where my friend got that quote I have no idea. Please send in your quotes, because my friends are HORRIBLE at giving them.**


	5. I Died (Jeyna)

" **I died."**

 **Jeyna**

If this was what love was, Jason didn't want any part in it. How could he, when it was love that prompted the girl he loved to take the arrow that was meant for him?

The daughter of Bellona lay on the ground.

"Jason," she whispered in a dry tone.

"I'm right here, Rey, right here," he dropped to her side, kneeling. He knew Piper was nearby, as were the rest of the Seven, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. How could he, when the girl he loved was about to die?

It hit him how cliché this whole thing was. The girl he loved was dying just when he realized that he did love her, and he was on his knees beside her, ignoring everything else.

"Don't kill yourself," she said, smiling, then wincing, until it looked like a painful grimace. Jason winced at her wording.

"Don't tempt me," he replied, dryly.

"No, Jason, _listen to me_." Reyna reached up and gripped his sleeve, her hands both cold as ice and hot as fire.

"When I die, no one else is going to tell you this, so _listen to me_ right now, in this moment. _Do not_ under _any circumstances_ blame yourselves for what happened to me, okay? It was my conscious decision, and I _knew_ what would happen."

"But you did it anyway," Jason interrupted, choking back tears. "You did it anyway and if I had just _come back_ when the Argo II touched down in Camp Jupiter then you-"

"Jason Grace, I'm on my last breaths, _don't interrupt me_!" Reyna snapped, and, despite the circumstances, a smile peeked out from behind Jason's frown. _This_ was the Reyna he knew.

"Yes, ma'am."

" _Thank you_. Jason, don't reflect on the past. Don't beat yourself up on what you could have done. That is the _worst possible_ thing you can do. _Live life_ for me, make _every single thing count_." She coughed a harsh, ugly sound that was just so _un-Reyna._ "Go to school, get a degree, get married, have kids, in Bellona's name _live,_ Jason."

Reyna looked up at him beseechingly, something she had never done before.

"Don't let me die in vain."

And that just about broke Jason.

He laughed loudly, his eyes crinkling. "Oh my _gods,_ Rey, that _look_ on your face…" He paused for a moment to catch his breath. "Don't ever make it again."

Reyna sat up and slapped him. "Are you kidding me? Your friends ask us to "reenact" our first kiss, and you _laugh_ right when we're about to get there?! The only reason I'm in this is for the jellybeans! Annabeth and _Percy_ didn't mess up, now did they? Hazel and _Frank_ didn't mess up. Even _Leo freaking Valdez_ and Calypso didn't mess up! And they're _Greek_!"

"What about me?" Frank whined. Reyna smiled before frowning.

"You're Canadian."

Frank scowled. "At least, I'm not _American_."

"You _live_ in America. Well, for now," Leo pointed out.

"At least, I use proper measurements," Frank shot back. Percy sucked in a breath.

"It just got _real_."

Reyna facepalmed. "Next time, when people ask what prompted you to _finally_ grow a pair and kiss me, I'll just say "I died." Okay?"

"But you _didn't_ die," Jason protested.

Reyna waved her hand dismissively. "Technicalities."

* * *

 **Damn, that was short. Sorry, guys, I've been procrastinating. And skiing! Anywho, I'm back now, and I'm apologizing for the long wait. This was a prompt from my friends. Yeah, I know, it's another Jeyna prompt. Both my friends and I** _ **love**_ **Jeyna. Asteria Daughter Of Koios also sent in a Jeyna prompt so get ready, guys! Asteria, by the way, sorry for the long wait. I'll try to get it finished soon. The rest of you, send in your prompts and say "Yay!" because we're halfway done!**


	6. But Reyna (Jeyna)

" **But Reyna, you don't know how hard it is to wash blood."**

 **(Jeyna)**

" _DAKOTA!"_ Reyna screamed.

The son of Bacchus turned around, widening his unusually sober looking eyes. "She found it!" He shuddered. "I'm dead meat!"

Bobby smirked at him. "Well, in your last moments, you can think of me. Who, by the way, will still be alive."

" _DON'T THINK I FORGOT ABOUT YOU, BOBBY, YOU SON OF A-"_

Bobby turned white. "Or maybe not."

"Wait." Dakota held up a hand. (Which, by the way, _wasn't_ holding a Kool-Aid packet. Feel free to be impressed.)

"Do you think she found Jason?"

" _JASON GRACE I AM GOING TO BLOODY_ KILL _YOU WHEN I FIND YOU!"_

"I'm guessing _no_ ," Dakota replied, knowledgeably, because he was smart like that.

Bobby scowled. "That _podex_ was supposed to _fill it back up_ so that she wouldn't notice. What did he think would happen when her prized possessions weren't there anymore?"

Dakota rolled his eyes with a long-suffering sigh. "The boy was probably too busy thinking about _her_."

Bobby nodded, before stopping. "You mean Reyna, right?"

Dakota huffed. " _Yes_ , I mean Reyna. I think she's good for him."

" _AHH, REYNA, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I WAS AN IDIOT AND I'M SORRY! PLEASE LET ME LIVE!"_

"Mhm, yeah, totally good for him," Bobby said sarcastically.

"Don't sass me!" Dakota snapped. "I'm trying to be a good friend."

"You sound like a cranky old man," Bobby deadpanned. Dakota sighed

dramatically.

"Some people just take me for _granted_ and it just… I can't do this, Bobby, I just

 _can't!"_

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Why are we even friends again?"

" _I'LL TELL YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT ABOUT BOBBY AND DAKOTA JUST PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME CLEAN THE MESS HALL WITH MY TOOTHBRUSH AGAIN! THE GUM WADS ARE_ MOCKING _ME!"_

Dakota grimaced. "That's why."

"Ah, yes," Bobby said, nodding sagely. "Too beat up that little prick after he rats us out to his murderous girlfriend."

Both teens were silent for a moment.

"Do you think she's going to kill him?" Dakota asked after a moment.

"Nah," Bobby shook his head. "She likes him too much."

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF BELLONA WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU DECIDED TO TAKE MY JELLYBEANS?!"  
"And… _There_ it is," Dakota said, wincing.

"I-I didn't _mean_ to-"

"Weak," Bobby criticized. "That is _weak_ , Grace."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that my jellybeans HAVE LEGS THAT THEY USE TO WALK OUT OF THEIR BOWL AND TAKE A VACATION TO HAWAII!"

"That is a very scary image," Dakota commented.

"Jellybeans climbing out of their bowl and going to Hawaii?"

"No. A scary Reyna." Bobby turned to the son of Bacchus, raising his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about, man? Reyna's _always_ scary." He thought for a second. "But a sarcastic Reyna is pretty much up there. You know, above Happy Reyna, but below Angry Reyna or Silently-Annoyed Reyna."

"Now, Jason Grace, you will show me where your good for nothing friends are. Okay?"

"And _there_ is the Quiet Reyna," Bobby whisper-shouted, his eyes wide as he turned to look at Dakota. "We're goners, man! You think this bush is going to protect us?"

"It _might_ have," Dakota replied, shakily.

"Why the _might?"_

"Because your _loud goddamn voice ruined everything_!" Dakota yelled as he

pointed upwards.

Standing above them was one hella mad Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano. Her eyes flashed with fury as she stood above them, her hands curled into fists. Bobby gulped as he took note of her iron-tipped boots, as well as the small dagger that was probably slipped somewhere in the folds of her toga. (Seriously, was that girl ever unprotected?)

"R-R-Reyna, um, _hi_ ," Bobby tried, smiling up at her, his lips quivering.

"Roberto Williams," she said, slowly and quietly.

 _Viciously._

Bobby shivered, opening his mouth to try again when Dakota through himself to the ground beside him.

"DON'T KILL ME, REYNA, I'M INNOCENT! IT WAS ALL THESE TWO IDIOTS FAULT I HAD NO PART IN IT!"

"Traitor," Jason hissed. "You were the one who plotted our break in route-"

"Bro!" Bobby cried. "What kind of bro rats out his bro's-"

" _Dakota_ ," Jason retaliated.

" _SHUT UP!"_ Reyna glared at all three of them. "If you guys don't shut up _right now_ then none of you will have any _bro's_ to rat you out."

"What does that mean again?" Bobby whimpered.

"She's going to kill us, you moron," Dakota replied.

"But Reyna, you don't know how hard it is to wash blood," Jason reasoned in a poor effort of trying to stay alive.

"Ex _cuse_ me, Jason Grace?" Reyna snarled. Jason backed away slowly as the reality of what he had said sank in.

"I didn't mean- I would never- I wasn't trying to-"

"Do you know how _hard_ it is to run a goddamn _legion_ full of ignorant males who don't know what it's like to bleed for _seven goddamn years_ on your _period?"_ Reyna asked incredulously.

"Oh, no, of course, you don't, because why _would_ you need to pay attention to a female's _basic needs_ ," she continued sarcastically.

Bobby and Dakota sent Jason twin looks of _We're Toast_ because, well, they all were.

Reyna was mercilessly slaying Jason's offhand comment and if she was mad before she was _furious_ now.

" _Do something, bro,"_ Bobby hissed. "You're our last hope."

Jason gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Jellybeans," he cried, after a moment. "Any kind you want, I'll buy the whole store if you want me to just _please let me live_."

Reyna regarded him coolly for a minute.

"Thirty minutes," she said, finally. "Thirty minutes to get me jellybeans and maybe I won't castrate you."

The three boys dashed out of her sight the minute she finished her sentence, leaving a legitimate cloud of dust behind them, something Reyna had only seen in cartoons.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Bobby, Dakota, and Jason appeared at her door with warm towels, nail polish, makeup, jelly beans, hot chocolate, and everything Reyna fully needed.

They took her and Gwen out for dinner after giving Gwen the same treatment, except with pumpkin spice latte's and Caramilk because Gwen had been born in Toronto and didn't trust Caramello.

When Jason walked Reyna back to the door she gave him a small smile and pecked his cheek.

"Thanks, Jason."

Suffice to say, Jason took Reyna out for dinner a lot after that.

* * *

 **I didn't expect it to turn out like that but what are you gonna do… I read the quote again and just sort of turned my reaction to those words into Reyna's perspective and voila. Sorry, it took so long Asteria, I've been neglecting FanFiction lately… Anywho, send in your quotes and pairings and maybe the chapters will start coming in quicker! (They probably won't but, you know.) For anyone who wants more Jeyna, I've got Friend-Builders, Three Meetings, and Four Times Reyna… Etc. That last one isn't completely Jeyna but, you know.**


	7. How Do I Explain It To You? (Jeyna)

**"How do I explain it for you? I...I don't know what to say . I just do know that I know Reyna, what ticks her off or what can make her laugh! I know all of this just like I know that the sky is blue, and electricity tickles."**

 **(Jeyna)**

"Piper, I don't like Reyna!" Jason cried. "Like, _yes_ , she was my best friend growing up and _yes_ , I really miss her, but _no_ I am not cheating on you, I'm just trying to build our friendship back together!"

Piper pursed her lips. "I'm not saying you're cheating on me, but you're father… Let's just say that the amount of time you spend with her isn't normal, Jason. I hardly see you anymore, and the reason is usually Reyna. It's not her fault this is happening, but did you see that look she gave you when you stepped off the ship? It was as if someone had stepped on her heart. Jason, I think Reyna _loved_ you." She swallowed. "And I think you loved her too." Jason opened his mouth, but Piper quickly cut him off with a gulp and six cutting words.

"And I think you still do."

Jason stopped, faltering. "I don't love her," he said, finally. "I mean, I might have, at one point, but I don't anymore."

"You used the word _love_ , Jason. Not even 'like', _love_."

"Piper-" Jason started.

"No, listen to me. We were fine when you were confused and we were fine during the war and we _tried_ to start over, god's, Jason, we tried. But… But you seem so _distant_ now. It's all Camp Jupiter this and Reyna that and it's like you've forgotten Camp Half-Blood and- And _me_."

"Camp Jupiter was the place I grew up, Piper," Jason replied, softly. "And Reyna's my home."

Piper inhaled sharply. " _She's_ your home?" She asked. "Not me, not Camp Jupiter, not even Camp Half-Blood?"

"I didn't mean-" Jason tried to backtrack.

" _What_ don't you mean?!" Piper shouted. "That you love Reyna more than you love me? Did you even _love me_ in the first place?"

"WELL, CAN YOU BLAME ME FOR NOT LOVING A RELATIONSHIP BUILT ON LIES!" Jason screamed.

They both stared at each other for a moment, breathing heavily.

"Lies?" Piper whispered, brokenly. "Our relationship was built on _lies_?"

"It was," Jason replied, unrepentant of what he had said, even though he hated seeing that mournful look on Piper's face. "I'm sorry, Piper, but it was and you know it."

"But, _why_?" Piper demanded. "Most of our memories are real now and-"

"Because if it wasn't for Hera, who knows if we would have been together in the first place?!" Jason yelled. "I never got to fully court you, or get to know you, or anything like that! It was just waking up with amnesia and the first thing I saw was your face and the first thing I figured out was that you were my girlfriend."

"But we _fixed_ that, Jason, we-"

"The first thing I remembered was the name Reyna."

Piper inhaled so sharply you could probably cut it with Katropis. "Then why did you lead me on?" She asked. "Why did you act like-"

"BECAUSE I MISSED REYNA!" Jason exclaimed. "Because I missed her and you were the closest thing I had to filling that empty hole inside of me. And when we got there you seemed so into me and I figured it would be awkward if we broke up during the war and then and then the war happened and I was sort of infatuated with you but- But it was never _real,_ Piper. It was just desperation for human contact in a world filled with blood and loneliness."

"Then, get out," Piper murmured.

"What? Piper, I-"

"Get out. Get out, get out, get out, GET OUT!" Piper cried, her voice gradually growing into a scream.

"DON'T STAND HERE AND TELL ME THAT THE ONLY REASON YOU EVER LOVED ME WAS BECAUSE I WAS A DAMN CONSOLATION PRIZE, _GET OUT!"_

Jason bowed his head and left the Aphrodite Cabin, closing the door quietly on his way out. To Piper, the soft creak of the door shutting was worse than a slam, and she wept bitter tears until a restless sleep finally claimed her.

* * *

The first thing Jason did was leave Camp Half-Blood. There were too many bitter memories here and Piper's siblings would probably curse him with the whole shebang the next day when they found out about the breakup.

" _Damn consolation prize"_ played in his head as he Iris Messaged Nico.

"Hello?" The son of Hades raised an eyebrow at the distraught look on his cousin's face.

"Hey, Nico, um, I've got a favour to ask."

* * *

Soon, Jason was walking down the streets of New Rome, a tight expression on his face as he replayed his and Piper's breakup in his head.

At least, he was pretty sure it was a breakup. Was it? He slapped himself mentally. He had practically told Piper he didn't love her or their relationship and was in love with someone else. Of _course_ they were broken up.

But he had a plan.

Confess to Reyna.

After all, if Reyna had been one factor in his and Piper's breakup, wouldn't the logical thing to do be to tell her exactly how he felt about her?

 _Yes_ , Jason decided. _I'm going to tell Reyna exactly how I feel because she deserves that much._

* * *

Jason rang the doorbell to Reyna's villa, listening to the sound of hurried footsteps coming from behind the door. Sharp barks punctuated the air every few seconds and a quick, " _Aurum, Argentum, STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!"_ followed. Jason smiled. He remembered this.

The door swung open, revealing Reyna in all her amazing, praetorian warrior glory. Except right now she was wearing a purple Camp Jupiter T-shirt and blue jeans with her trademark braid slung over one shoulder. Jason's breath caught. Even in casual clothes, Reyna still managed to amaze him.

"Hey, Jason," Reyna greeted. "Are you looking for Nico? Because if you are, he left for-"

"Um, no, I came for you, actually," Jason said. Reyna raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't we hang out like four days ago?"

"Well, yeah, but- I- Well-" Jason took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. "PiperandIbrokeup."

"Oh, Jason," Reyna breathed softly who had plenty of practice deciphering quick speaking, practice given to her by Mr. Jason Grace himself. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Jason reassured her, wincing through the words.

"What was that?" Reyna demanded, her dark eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"What was what?" Jason asked.

"That- That face you made. You told me it wasn't my fault but you were wincing while you said it." Reyna's face contorted into one of horror. "Was it my fault that you and Piper broke up?"

"I- Well- I mean, we were probably going to break up soon anyway so you didn't really-" Jason babbled. But it was too late.

"Oh my gods," Reyna whispered. "Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my _gods_ , I _broke you and Piper up_." Her fingers ran through the hair covering her scalp frantically, her eyes wide. "Oh, gods, what have I _done_."

"It wasn't your fault," Jason cried hurriedly. "You were more of a…" He grimaced, " _Factor_ , in the whole thing. As in, Piper noticed that we were spending a lot of time together and… well… she got suspicious. I told her that I wasn't cheating on her with you, just trying to build back our friendship but then she got annoyed at something stupid I said and then she said something and I then I yelled something and it just escalated from there."

"Oh, Jason," Reyna murmured, putting one hand over her mouth. "I am so, _so_ sorry."

"No," Jason said, fiercely. "No, you are not beating yourself up for something that wasn't your fault."

"No, Jason, you don't get it, I should have stayed away, stepped back and let you and Piper continue your relationship because _obviously_ she would be jealous even though-"

"Even though what?" Jason demanded. "Even though you're beautiful and amazing and brave and scary, no, _terrifying_ , and powerful and everything I-" He stopped himself.

"There's no even though," he finished lamely. "There's no even though and our relationship was built on lies which isn't exactly healthy and I knew deep down that something like that couldn't go forever, especially if I-" He took a deep breath.

"Especially if I loved someone else."

"Who's the lucky girl?" Reyna deadpanned.

"You," Jason replied, grimly. "You are." Reyna's eyes slowly widened until her eyebrows rose up to her hairline and she took a step back into her villa.

"No. No, no, no, no, no. No, this is a joke, you don't mean that, no one _ever_ means it-" Suddenly, Reyna straightened up and looked Jason right in the eye with her piercing dark eyes.

"Stop that. Stop acting like I'm just some rebound waiting here for you to pick me up after your dream girl dumps you. You don't get to leave, not send us _any_ evidence of you being alive, ignore me when you come back, and then finally return expecting me to welcome you with open arms the minute she dumped you. I was fine with a friendship, Jason, what we were trying to bring back. That was safe. And maybe, maybe we would have worked out before." She shook her head sadly. "But you broke that. You broke that when you replaced me _just. Like. That._ So, no. I won't be your girlfriend or lover or whatever it is you want me to be. I'm not just going to be a mannequin that you'll discard the minute your Beauty Queen comes back. And if that's really what you think of me-" Reyna's eyes hardened.

"Then, goodbye, Jason Grace."

She slammed the door shut.

* * *

"But why would she _do_ that?" Jason lamented on the floor of the Fifth Cohort barracks.

"It might have had something to do with the fact that you only told her you loved her after you left, came back, ignored her, and got dumped by your girlfriend," Bobby said, helpfully.

"Not helpful," Jason said, glaring at the son of Mercury.

"Bobby's right," Dakota agreed. Jason's head whipped towards the son of Bacchus.

"Dakota-"

"I'm sorry, Jason, but you know it's true," Dakota continued. "Even now, you're only talking to _us_ properly because you just got rejected by Reyna. It's hard not to feel like we've just been tossed aside."

"I'm… sorry," Jason whispered. Bobby and Dakota exchanged looks and opened their mouths to say something but Jason stopped them.

"No, guys, listen to me. I am _so, so sorry_. You guys are my some of my best friends and I wouldn't be who I am without you. You guys helped me grow up and taught me so much and I… I just threw all that away." He looked at Bobby and Dakota with his electric blue eyes filled with nothing but honesty and regret.

"So for that I am so, so, _so_ sorry."

It was quiet for a moment in the wooden barracks until Bobby and Dakota simultaneously whooped loud enough to wake Nico di Angelo, who slept like the dead. (No pun intended.)

(Okay. Slight pun intended.)

"Dude, that was awesome!" Bobby cried. "Just tell Reyna what you told us, like you really, _really_ mean it, and she's sure to forgive you!"  
"Yeah, you can't _not_ tell how sincere you were right then," Dakota added. "Reyna will be able to see it."

"And then Jeyna will _finally_ happen," Bobby cheered.

"But, wait," Jason interrupted, his eyebrows furrowed. "It's not enough. I was a total jerk to Reyna and she- she deserves _more_ than a crappy apology."

Dakota and Bobby exchanged another knowing look. (They were seriously starting to piss Jason off.)

"I didn't realize how bad it was before," Bobby started.

"But, _man,_ you're in love with her," Dakota told Jason.

"How long did that take you to figure out?" Jason asked dryly, rolling his eyes.

"AY!" Bobby cried. "We knew the moment the two of you met! Don't give us that smart talk young man."

"Kids these days," Dakota grumbled, shaking his head.

"You guys sound like Nico and Coach Hedge," Jason muttered.

* * *

Christian Mordecai was a relatively new legionnaire. It had only been a week since he had been named an official legionnaire and he was still learning a lot about Camp Jupiter and New Rome.

One specific thing he had learned was that the Twelfth Legion's female praetor, Reyna, was _amazing._ She was brave and powerful and strong and humble and was frankly _terrifying_ but just so _beautiful._

That was probably why he was walking up to her villa with a bouquet of red roses which he had overheard someone saying Reyna loved.

(The fact that it was starting to rain a little was probably a bad omen.)

Christian was about to walk up to the door when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Who are-" He spun around and stared into electric blue eyes. "Jason," he finished lamely. "You're Jason Grace, aren't you?"

The blonde hair, blue eyes, tanned skin, strong build, and small scar proved all of it. This was Jason Grace, no doubt about it. Suddenly, Christian remembered something else.

"You're the one who broke Reyna's heart, aren't you." It wasn't a question.

Jason's expression turned stormy and Christian felt the air around them crackle. _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ he berated. _Do_ not _piss off the son of Jupiter, member of the famous Seven._

"Walk with me, Christian," Jason offered. It wasn't an offer.

Christian gulped and nodded, turning away from Reyna's villa with the bouquet of red roses clutched tightly in his fist.

* * *

"So, who's the lucky girl that get's those flowers?" Jason joked, his cheerful tone at odds with the angry look in his eyes.

"Reyna," Christian answered.

"Oh?" Jason asked tightly.

"Yeah," Christian replied, the braveness in his voice surprising even him. "Yeah, I like her so I'm going to ask her out."

"And do you think she'll say yes?" Jason inquired.

"I don't know," Christian said. "But I'm going to try." Jason nodded, and they walked in silence for a bit.

"Why do you like Reyna?" Jason asked him after a moment.

"She's… amazing," Christian gushed. "She's amazing and brave and strong and beautiful and I want to be with someone like that."

"Here's a question for you," Jason started. He paused for a moment, looking at Christian with a calculative look in his eyes that reminded Christian of Mars kids as they sized up an enemy.

"Do you know her last name?"

"No, but-"

"What about any of her interests?"

"Running Rome, caring for her people-" Jason laughed coldly.

"Not even close."

"Oh, like you-"

"Mario Kart, a shitton of jellybeans, hot chocolate with exactly ten mini-marshmallows, different hairstyles, makeup, Disney movies, and anything by Adele and Taylor Swift," Jason listed.

"Well-"

"She also hates racists, sexists, and homophobes, Donald Trump, people who break promises, and she detests the songs Hotline Bling and Work. When she listens to music she'll hum it under her breath and if she's standing up she'll shake her hips a little bit. She cannot whistle for the life of her but she can play the guitar as well as the ukelele and can contour like nobody's business." Jason leaned in close to Christian, his breath hot on the other boy's face.

"And she _hates_ red roses because of how commercializes they are."

"Why are you doing this?" Christian asked, finally. "Is it because you're jealous because you _had_ your chance and you _blew it_."

" _Jealous?_ You think I'm _jealous?"_ Jason snorted. "No. I want Reyna to be happy, and find someone good who really _know's_ her and I'm sorry but you do _not_ in the slightest."

"How do you know her so well?" Christian finally demanded.

Jason sighed. **"How do I explain it for you? I...I don't know what to say . I just do know that I know Reyna, what ticks her off or what can make her laugh! I know all of this just like I know that the sky is blue, and electricity tickles."**

Christian sucked in a breath. "You love her," he said. Jason slowly nodded.

"I do."

"What's her last name?" Christian asked.

"Ramirez-Arellano and her middle name is Avila but she hates anyone saying either of those because she left those names back with the little girl in San Juan," Jason replied immediately.

"What's her favourite flower?" Christian continued.

"Tiger lilies," Jason said. "She loves how they look and how they stand for being confident and how they're so rare."

"One last question," Christian started. "If she was right here, what would you say to her?"

"I would tell her that I'm sorry," Jason whispered. "I would tell her that I was sorry for leaving her and ignoring her and rubbing my relationship with Piper in her face and taking so long to realize that I loved her and only coming back when my girlfriend dumped me. Then I would thank her for everything she taught me about love and friendship and standing tall and being brave. I would tell her how special and beautiful and brave and strong and frankly _amazing_ she is and then I would tell her that she didn't deserve someone like me who couldn't even see that and then… and then I would tell her I love her. I'd tell her that I've loved her the first time we watched the stars together and-"

He slowly raised his head and looked above Christian's face at something standing behind the boy.

"And then I would give her a huge bag of jelly beans and hot towels and nail polish and hot chocolate with mini marshmallows and I'd reenact exactly what I did when I screwed up and told her she didn't know how hard it was to wash blood-" a crooked smile came across the son of Jupiter's face, "Except, this time, I'd kiss her under the lanterns they'd strung across their outdoor dance floor."

A choked laugh came from behind Christian and he spun around (for the second time that evening) to see who it came from.

Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano.

He fully registered how heavy the rain was falling when he noticed how Reyna's hair was damp and how her clothes were stuck to her body.

He was staring at her, taking in everything about her and she was staring right back. Just not at him.

Christian stepped to the side, realizing he was a spectator in this intense gaze of dark brown versus electric blue.

"Go on," Reyna continued. "Spin more stories."

"I'm not spinning stories," Jason said without blinking an eye. "But I've decided to just scrap that idea."

"Oh?" Reyna raised an eyebrow. "And what are you going to do instead?"

"I've decided to do one of the most cliché thing ever and kiss her in the rain." Jason took a step forward. "That is, if she says yes."

Reyna gave a shaky nod. "She does."

And then, of course, they kissed, and Christian decided that there was no point going after Reyna when she was obviously meant to be with someone else.

After all, they were literally _kissing in the rain._ You didn't get anymore in love than that.

* * *

 **You guys, I am so,** _ **so**_ **sorry about how long this has taken. But I've finally updated and given you all** _ **this**_ **. Asteria, I'm really sorry for how long this has taken but it's finally done and I hope you like it. Send in your requests and pairings (I need both the prompt and the pairing) and other than that… Tell me how I did!**


	8. Piper Didn't Question It When (PiperxOC)

**So, for those of you who didn't notice, the… sixth -?- chapter of this story was a bit of a prequel to the seventh and because Asteria Daughter of Koios is an amazingly creative person who is literally breathing life into this story, she gave me the prompt and I've sort of turned it into a sort of epilogue to the seventh chapter.**

* * *

 **Piper didn't question the way they were hesitant around each other, always never staying within the same room as each other and taking ridicules measures to avoid each other. Annabeth had told her that there were unresolved problems between them, tension that could explode anytime. So she had allowed Annabeth to fix them up, and she did fix them. She didn't notice the long glances at each other when they thought no one was looking, she didn't notice how Jason seemed comfortable at Reyna's touch neither did she notice how did his eyes change their colours around Reyna.**

Now, she regretted that. She regretted not noticing how his eyes sparkled for another girl, how his smile seemed tight around her but bright and happy around Reyna, and _gods_ , she wished she hadn't allowed Annabeth to fix them. Maybe, maybe she could have asked Annabeth to fix Jason and herself instead. Maybe then she would be crying in her cabin at twelve in the afternoon while the rest of her cabin, as well as the whole _camp_ , had lunch.

But no. That wasn't fair to Reyna, who had always truly loved Jason more than Piper because she loved the _real_ Jason, not the mist made Jason. That wasn't fair to Jason, who had said it best of all: That their relationship was made of lies and she couldn't exactly fault him for not being joyous in it.

Really, it wasn't fair to anybody but Piper herself, the selfish girl who just wanted everything _Jason_. Not anybody else, just the goddamn son of Jupiter who wasn't even hers to begin with.

She groaned, throwing herself face first into her pillow. She was pathetic. She really, really was.

Piper's life-is-shit session ended with a soft knock on the door.

"It's open," she croaked, hating how her voice sounded. Wasn't she the best charmspeaker in camp? What had _happened_ to her? She coughed, then tried again.

"Come on in," she said, smiling slightly because at least her voice was clearer now.

The door swung open and Piper hopped off her bunk to speak to whoever had come into the Aphrodite cabin face to face.

"Holy Hera," she muttered under her breath. The guy standing in the doorway of the cabin was _hot_. He had wavy brown hair, kind green eyes, and a splash of freckles across his nose.

"Hey, um…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, a slight blush on his face. Piper used the opportunity to pick her jaw up off the ground.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Er, hi, um, my name's, uh, Max. Well, actually, it's Max _well_ , but I prefer Max and I'm really sorry that I'm rambling but you're really pretty and-" Piper's lips twitched when all of a sudden-

"Wait, are your eyes red? I'm sorry, you were probably busy it's just that I'm new here and everyone else was at the Pavilion but I just wanted to find my cabin and, anyway, I'll go now because this is _obviously_ not where I'm supposed to go, sorry again-"

"Wait!" Piper cried. Max turned around, alarmed.

"Um, yeah?"

"You said you needed help finding your cabin, right?" He nodded.

"Well, have you already been claimed?" Max grinned toothily.

"Yeah. By Demeter." Piper grinned too. Not because of what he said, Max's grin was just naturally infectious.

"Well," she started, once she remembered that she could _talk_. "I can show you there. I'm not busy anyway."

"But…" Max faltered. "Weren't you, um…"

"Don't worry about it," Piper said breezily. She stuck out her hand. "Here. Let's start over. My name is Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite." He shook her hand, sending warm tingles up her arm.

"Max Ackerly, son of Demeter."

* * *

 **So… This is short! I'm sorry, I know I promised you Jeyna, Asteria, but I decided Piper needed a happy ending and this just… Happened.**


	9. Two Halves of a Whole (Mars x Bellona)

**Because they were the twins of Juno and Jupiter, two halves of a whole. The two sides of war and no matter how much people keep singing about the wonders and the power of love. Mars would always choose her—would always choose war on its finest and worst days over the soft love of Venus anytime. Because to see her eyes set in their eternal flames as she taunted him or the way she would slay their enemy—the enemy of Rome.**

 **(Mars x Bellona)**

At first, he didn't pay much attention to her. After all, she was just a _woman_. They would pass each other in the immortal halls of Olympus and even if Bellona was looking especially striking, Mars would keep his eyes ahead because he was a soldier goddamnit and soldiers were not wavered by mere amateurs.

He made the mistake (or good decision, depending on how you looked at it) of telling her that one day.

* * *

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the _Roman gods were meditating in a field of flowers._

Mars couldn't remember whose idea this was -Minerva's? Venus'? Juno's?- but he did remember that he had to find a way to get out of this shit show. He turned around wildly.

On his right, Ceres was lecturing a bunch of nature spirits on the benefits of fertilizer while on his left, Diana was pantomiming a gruesome chimera chase that had led the Hunters to a small village in Argentina to Minerva, who slowly nodded, punctuated by a wince after every few particularly violent gestures.

So, those two exits were out.

Behind him, Venus was rolling out an extravagantly embroidered hot pink yoga mat that shimmered in the sunlight (it matched her sky blue tank top and black yoga pants) and in front of him, Apollo was cheerfully demonstrating a flawless aerial… _something_ that made him look half-bird.

 _Why was he even doing that they were supposed to be meditating for the gods sakes?_

"Now, sit down in a circle," Juno intoned, already cross-legged and eyes closed, doing that weird thing with her hands that people usually did when they mock-meditated with their friends.

"Feel the grass beneath your toes-"

Mars was wearing combat boots-

"Put that mat away, Venus, this is supposed to be all-natural-"

Juno herself was seated on her cloak which was apparently now a yoga mat-

"And close your eyes."

Mars kept his eyes open. He was not the only one. He noticed Diana glaring at Apollo, whose eyes were closed, Minerva's indignant expression -she was probably making a mental list of everything they were doing wrong right now- and Bellona-

Bellona was staring right at him.

* * *

"I'm telling you, man, she was glaring right at me!" Mars exclaimed. Mercury raised his eyebrows. Apollo tousled his hair. (Did he _have_ to do that all the damned time?)  
"You sure, man?" Mercury asked. Apollo laughed.

"Course he's sure, bro! I mean, she's a chick and he's a guy and chicks like guys! Right?"

"I'm not sure that's how it works-"

"Lemme tell you somethin', Merc, you've been so busy delivering all those messages, you've let your social life go to Pluto! I, on the other hand, have a fresh view of all the ladies from my sun chariot-"

"Convertible-" Vulcan coughed from his corner of the accurately named Man Cave of Olympus.

" _Whatever_. Mars, bro, just remember that-"

"Bellona's not an ordinary goddess, man," Mars said. Apollo and Mercury hooted loudly.

"HE'S GOT IT BAAAAAAAAD!"

"I do not," Mars muttered.

Apollo tousled his hair again. (Yeah. Again.) "Well, whatever you do, man, just remember that you're a goddamn chick magnet, and all chicks like chick magnets so-"

A dagger flew through the air, pierced through Apollo's black Rocky Road Moto Jacket, and pinned his arm to the wall.

Minerva stood in the doorway, hellfire burning in her eyes. "Jupiter called a meeting. Say something sexist again and that jacket won't be the only thing being cut."

* * *

"Well, _that_ was utterly pointless," Mercury groaned as they exited the throne room.

"Yeah…" Mars agreed, his eyes fixed on the leather jacket-clad goddess walking in front of him.

Then she turned around. And glared. And Mars was, like, pretty sure he was going to die but he would die a happy god because-

Wait, gods didn't die. Nevermind.

"There a problem, God of War?" Bellona asked, raising a dark eyebrow. Mars' throat was dry.

"Uh… No- No problem at all." Bellona nodded slowly.

"Good. Because, you know, it just seemed like you were-"

"I wasn't doing nothing, lady," Mars snapped. "I'm a soldier. Soldier's don't get distracted by _women_ -"

Suddenly he was shoved up against a wall and there as a cold blade at his throat and his hands were pinned against the wall by another smaller, callused hand, and through his moment of I-Done-Fucked-Up there was the underlying feeling of Holy-Actual-Motherloving-Crap-I- _Like_ -This.

"You ever say something like that again and I will make you wish we hadn't defeated Saturn because _Tartarus_ will seem kinder _._ Understood?"

Mutely, Mars nodded.

"You done fucked up, man," Mercury snorted as they limped away from the crowd of giggling goddesses.

Apollo tousled his hair.

* * *

 **Bellona wasn't sure how it started. She knew that things were changing and times were becoming tenser and conversations quieter and smiles faker but it wasn't until her fellow gods started flickering into two images that she realized something was terribly, horribly wrong.**

 _My daughters_ was her first thought.

 _Saturn is back_ was her second thought.

 _No, that's stupid_ was her third thought.

 _Better go ask Minerva what's going on_ was her fourth, though.

 _Shit, she's not here_ was her fifth thought.

Then the daughter of Jupiter and Juno stood alone in the middle of a war as everyone around her lost their minds.

* * *

Bellona wasn't sure how she had ended up here but somehow Mars was lying sideways across her lap, complaining about a massive headache.

"Just got back from talking with my kid," he groaned. "Bad stuffs happening."

"I know, I know," Bellona said soothingly as she patted his back. (Where was this maternal instinct even coming from?)

"My headache is killing me," Mars complained.

"I know, I know," Bellona murmured. "Have some Advil."

"I'm a god. I don't take Advil."

"I know, I know."

* * *

Apparently, she and Mars were best buds now. Well, not really, but they acknowledged each other's presence.

Some shit would happen up on Olympus because _mythology_ and Mars would walk towards it because that was all there was to do these days and Bellona would walk away from it because there were _so_ many better things to do these days and they'd nod in the halls or give a cutting remark or insult each other and somehow these interactions became the best part of Bellona's day.

"Walking towards the drama again?" She quipped one day.

"You got an issue with that?"

"No…"

"You have an issue with that."

"Don't twist my words, God of War."

"Stop playing games, Goddess of War."

"Alright," Bellona said. She stopped walking right there in the middle of the hallway and advanced on the other god as he slowly backed up until she had him pressed up against the wall, her forehead leaning against his, her hands around his arms. Her breath ghosted upon his face.

"Soon as you stop playing yours."

* * *

Times were changing and a war was approaching and there were more and more meetings now but they felt like broken records because did anyone actually _do_ anything at those meetings?

Bellona was debating different hunting strategies with Diana when someone grabbed her arm. She spun around, fury evident on her face.

"Who in the name of Jupiter do you think you are- Oh, it's just you."

The familiar -did she say familiar no she didn't say familiar why would she ever say familiar ignore that ignore ignore _ignore_ that- flames in Mars' eyes looked down at her.

" _Just_ me?" He purred into her ear. "This isn't a game anymore, Belle darling. This is a war. And I _always_ win the war."

* * *

Jupiter had called yet _another_ meeting and apparently it was Bellona's turn to go fetch the morons who still hung out in the Man Cave in times of war.

She was about to open the door when-

"Bro, be careful, you don't know what you're getting into."

"I'm not _getting into_ anything, Merc."

"Listen, I know you're mad but-"

"No, _you_ listen. Look, it's just a game alright? Nothing serious, so I don't see why you're all worked up about nothing. I mean-"

"It's not nothing, Mars. You said it yourself. _This isn't a game anymore. This is a war_."

"That was just-"

"Two war gods fighting a war? This isn't going to end well, Mars. Not for anybody."

Bellona leaned her head against the wall and tried to breathe.

* * *

"I'm sure a few of you have realized something is wrong by now," Jupiter announced. "My daughter, Minerva, has disappeared, and many of us are experiencing… Difficulties."

His form flickered into a grey-haired man in a blue pinstripe suit. "AGHHHH!"

Bellona winced.

"You don't realize how lucky you are," Diana whispered to her, annoyedly.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't have these weird… Personality changes as much as the rest of us.

You're… Lucky." Diana then rushed out of the room, muttering something about her Hunters, her straight black hair turning wavy and auburn.

 _Lucky_ , Bellona thought shrewdly, catching Mars' eye. She raised an eyebrow at him and he quickly looked away.

 _When have I ever been lucky?_

* * *

Jupiter glared down at the shorter goddess. "There is nothing we can do-"

" _Terra is rising, father. We_ have _to do something._ "

"We have demigods, child."

"I'M NOT LETTING MY DAUGHTERS DIE BECAUSE YOU CAN'T STAND TO DO SOMETHING IN YOUR LIFE." Bellona faced to the rest of the gods surrounding her on the holy grounds of Olympus.

"And if you are about to let your children walk into a massacre because you can't stand to be brave… Then shame on you, for you have disgraced Rome."

She turned, ready to walk away, when a gruff voice called out-

"Wait."

Bellona turned back around.

"I stand with her," Mars announced confidently. He slowly walked up beside Bellona.

"We are the _gods of Olympus_ and we _will not be defeated._ We are the warriors of Rome and we will give this empire a new day. And if any of you cowards are ready to stay back and let your children die, then live in shame for you have turned your back on Rome _..._ and Rome has turned it's back on you."

Then they stood together, on Olympus, looking out to a sea of immortal faces and Bellona smiled and Mars smiled and in unison, they yelled-

"FOR ROME!"

* * *

They were in the middle of the war and there was blood and ichor everywhere and Mars wasn't scared and Bellona wasn't scared but at the same time they were terrified and somehow that was okay.

Mars turned to look at her and realized something. He loved her.

 **Because they were the twins of Juno and Jupiter, two halves of a whole. The two sides of war, and no matter how much people keep singing about the wonders and the power of love. Mars would always choose her—would always choose war on its finest and worst days over the soft love of Venus anytime. Because to see her eyes set in their eternal flames as she taunted him or the way she would slay their enemy—the enemy of Rome.**

Then somehow, when the enemies were not yet dead and the ground was still soaked with blood and electricity crackled in the air, they found each other.

Mars and Bellona.

Bellona and Mars.

Staring at each other. Until Bellona snapped and pulled him forward and their lips were touching and it was harsh and sharp and clacking teeth and bruised lips and the kiss tasted like war and pain and blood and Mars didn't want to be anywhere else.

* * *

 **For those of you who haven't realized it: I am** _ **shit**_ **at updating.**

 **Moving on! Sorry for the long wait, and, also, to** _ **Plore**_ **I have been a complete and utter jerk to you because you requested something in** _ **January**_ **and still haven't gotten it so, if you'd like to give in a sentence prompt feel free too so that I can write the Jercy oneshot but if you don't that's fine too. Once again, super sorry and to the rest of you: Send your prompts in and I hope you're all having a wonderful summer!**


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